1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to means for restraining neckties, and more particularly, to an improved apparatus to anchor a necktie to a shirt so that it remains properly restrained and centered when adorned.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional "four-in-hand" necktie is tied about the neck with a knot at a shirt collar and generally has an outward facing section passing down the shirt front to conceal shirt buttons and a somewhat narrower tail section which hangs down from the knot and is concealed by the outward facing section. Normally, a wearer might use one of a number of possible methods to control a tie, including: letting both the outward section and the tail section hang free; passing the tail section through a manufacturer's label regularly provided on the back of the outward facing section so that the two sections of the tie hang as a unit; or attaching the two sections to the shirt by use of various forms of jewelry, such as a tie-tack, a tie bar or a tie pin to keep the tie in place.
The problem with the non-restrained methods of wearing a tie mentioned above is that the tie sections hang free. This not only regularly presents disarray in appearance, but the tie sections frequently interfere with work, are soiled or ruined by dragging through food or other staining material, and may be quite hazardous if accidentally caught in a doorway or machinery.
The use of jewelry holding devices is common, but also suffers from a number of drawbacks. First, these devices often pass in and out of favor depending on preference and fashion trends. Second, they are often expensive and regularly cause damage to the fabric by creating permanent holes, creases, and blemishes in the tie. Finally, these jewelry devices anchor the tie to the shirt and often do not permit vertical movement of the tie relative to the shirt. Torso movements of the wearer cause the anchored tie to pull on the knot causing displacement of the knot and general disarray so as not to present an elegant appearance.
Not surprisingly, a number of solutions have been proposed to attempt to avoid the above problems, but none is believed wholly satisfactory. U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,579 to Swain describes an apparatus to restrain necktie tails of a four-in-hand tie at the front of the shirt by relying on the manufacturer's sewn-in-place label on the back of the outward facing section and a flat plastic loop threaded through that label and attached to buttons on the shirt front. The plastic loop is somewhat stiff and has button holes at each end with a fixed distance between them. This arrangement is believed to have numerous drawbacks, including that it is awkward to employ-- requiring keeping track of the loop, re-positioning the loop each time a new tie is worn, and often re-tying of the tie to center the device properly. Further, this device relies on the distance between buttons fixed by the manufacturer of the shirt which is not always the same from shirt to shirt. Moreover, this device may cause tie damage through constant pulling on the manufacturer's label--a use for which the label is not designed. Finally, the stiff plastic loop may prove uncomfortable to wear.
Another approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,576 to Prince, Jr. There a button-slot neck tie fastener is permanently affixed to the manufacturer's label and a stiff portion having button slots is affixed to a shirt button. Apparently the tie's vertical movement relative to the shirt is permitted by the slot engaging the button. This device is believed to suffer from most of the same drawbacks as the Swain device, and may have the additional problem of possibly wearing out the shirt front where it contacts the device and the button stitching--thus possibly damaging both the tie and the shirt.
Still another solution to keeping a conventional tie in proper position is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,523 to Begg. Begg contemplates the use of complementary VELCRO.RTM.-type loop-and-hook material, with a first element thereof on the back of the outward facing section and a second element thereof on a loop around the tail section. The second element has a slot on its opposite side for engagement with a shirt button. The two hook-and-loop elements engage each other to hold the tie in position and the tail section of the tie is threaded through the loop. Although this arrangement solves some of the problems presented by the Swain and Prince devices, its separate elements are believed to be somewhat awkward to use and the loop element may be prone to loss. More importantly, this design does not allow vertical movement of the tie relative to the shirt to follow movement of the torso of the wearer--leading to some of the same presentation problems as conventional jewelry restraining devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,547 to Abdallah proposes attaching a somewhat cumbersome plastic base member to the rear of the front portion of the tie and intertwining a slidable member through slots in the base member for attachment to a shirt button. Although this design may solve some of the problems for after-market necktie restraint, it is still considered deficient in a number of aspects. First, the relatively large base member, which is suggested to be constructed from a plastic material, is considered to be unnecessarily awkward for ease in tying the necktie--particularly with respect to passing the front apron of the tie through the knot. Further, this device can be heavy in comparison to the weight of the material from which the tie is fabricated, thus placing unnecessary stress on the tie material and presenting a stiff look during normal movements of the wearer.
Yet another anchoring device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,546 to Jones. Jones proposes a slidable device which is anchored to, or formed as a continuous part of, the back of a tie. Although this device may cure some of the problems discussed above, this patent is devoid of teaching or suggestion of how to best proportion and construct such a device. Additionally, nothing in this patent teaches how to readily adapt such a device for after-market use.
Applicant's device disclosed in the parent applications solves many of these problems. That invention employs a tie restraint apparatus with a vertical member attached at its top and bottom to the back of the front section of the tie and a relatively wide horizontal member which surrounds the vertical member and slides between the vertical member's top and bottom positions. The horizontal member includes multiple buttonholes along its length so that the wide horizontal member may be properly positioned. As is disclosed, ideally the vertical and horizontal members are constructed from a material similar in appearance to the tie material itself and include a backing of fusion cloth or comparable material which provides sufficient stiffness for proper operation of the apparatus.
In operation, once the necktie is tied in a conventional manner, the horizontal member is easily slid into a position on the vertical member which aligns with an opening with a button on the shirt. The button is then secured within the opening to provide an anchor for the tie. The concealed tail section of the tie may be inserted through the horizontal member to keep it safely secure.
The attachment of the horizontal member to the shirt has proven to be a very secure method of retaining the tie in place. This is due in part to the free movement of the horizontal member on the vertical member which assures that the tie always stays in a straight and low-stress orientation. Moreover, the invention of the parent application is extremely simple and reliable in operation, may be instantly attached without complicated positioning of the tie relative to shirt buttons, may be inexpensively incorporated as original equipment on any conventional tie, and, due to its automatic adjustability, always presents an orderly appearance regardless of a wearer's torso movement.
Despite the many advantages of the invention of the parent application, alternate less costly methods of restraining the necktie are considered to be possible. First, it is believed desirable to provide some form of tie restraint apparatus which can deliver most of the performance of the applicant's original device, but can be readily installed on existing neckwear. Second, it is believed that these same concepts can be employed to create a simplified and less expensive apparatus for use on pre-tied neckwear (e.g. "clip-on" ties).
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for maintaining a necktie in place which is effective, yet camouflaged from view by the ordinary observer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which can be easily and quickly installed on existing neckwear with minimal stress on the neckwear.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which is as inexpensive, simple and straightforward as possible to be readily adapted for full scale production.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which can be inexpensively adapted for use with pre-tied neckwear.
These and other objects of the present invention will become evident from review of the following specification.